REGIONAL ROADS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (P146334) Procurement Overview 1. Procurement for the proposed project will be carried out in accordance with the World Bank’s “Guidelines”: Procurement of Goods, Works and non-Consulting Services under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers” dated January 2011 and revised July 2014 (Procurement Guidelines) and “Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers” dated January 2011 and revised July 2014 (Consultant Guidelines) and the provisions stipulated in the Financing Agreement. For each contract to be financed by the Bank, the different procurement methods or consultant selection methods, the need for prequalification, estimated costs, prior review requirements, and time frame are agreed between the Recipient and the Bank project team in the Procurement Plan. The Procurement Plan will be updated at least annually or as required to reflect the actual project implementation needs and improvements in institutional capacity. If there is conflict between the Government decrees, rules and regulations and the Bank Procurement and Consultant Guidelines, then Bank Guidelines shall prevail. In addition, the project will also follow “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants dated October 15, 2006 and revised in January 2011.” 2. A Country Procurement Assessment was conducted in 2003 (by the World Bank and ADB) and it identified certain weaknesses in the public procurement system in Uzbekistan. The recent assessments under the Country Integrated Fiduciary Assessment(CIFA) and Public Expenditures Financial Accountability Assessment(PEFA) studies indicate that there is still ample room for changes and improvement in the public procurement environment and the same weaknesses largely remain today: (i) absence of a unified legislative framework; (ii) inefficient and non-transparent procurement practices; (iii) absence of a single institution with oversight or regulatory function for public procurement; (iv) weak capacity for reviewing bidders’ complaints; (v) complicated internal review/approval of bid evaluation reports which leads to lack of accountability and delays; (vi) no comprehensive anti-corruption measures; and low skills/capacity of the staff handling public procurement at various administrative level. Private sector suppliers and contractors remain unsatisfied with the rules governing public procurement and have little confidence in the system’s fairness. Though the Government has started extensive reforms of its public procurement system including drafting a Public Procurement Law based on UNCITRAL Model law, at present, the procurement environment is considered as high risk. 3. An assessment of the implementing agency’s (RRF) to procure was carried out by the Bank team using PRAMS, and the following additional risks were identified: (i) the government decrees and rules and regulations have internal conflict in major provisions such as price verification which leads to considerable delays in project procurement and implementation; (ii) The requirement to clear at each stage of procurement with eleven member Inter Ministerial Bidding Committee (IMBC) leads to tremendous delays and lack of accountability of the implementing agency in procurement and project implementation (iii) the difficulty in obtaining bank guarantee for bid security and performance security by the local bidders and non-availability of alternative instruments for such purpose in the country banking system in particular Joint Ventures; (iv) there are number bid evaluation committees/stages and the interdepartmental tender committee consists of eleven members and the minutes signing takes 2 months or more; (v) from bid opening to the start of contract implementation takes minimum of 6 to 12 months and (vi) considerable procurement delays due to registration of contracts with International Contractors/Suppliers/Consultants and price verification (this procedure is not in line with the Bank Procurement Guidelines) by MFERIT. After risk mitigation, the procurement capacity and arrangements at the Project level are considered acceptable. Procurement training will be provided to the PIU procurement specialists throughout the project implementation. 4. Procurement Arrangement and Staffing: The PIU under the Republican Road Fund is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the project and has to be established yet. Further hiring 1 of experienced international and national procurement specialists in the PIU may be required by the project effectiveness. Procurement training will be provided to the procurement specialists of the PIU and Road Fund staff throughout the project implementation. It would be strongly suggested that the Evaluation Committee members shall be also trained in the Bank procurement and evaluation procedures. The PMM shall be developed by the RRF and that shall reflect the detailed internal approval stages and the approval process and stages, timeline. The price verification and reasonableness of recommended contract value will be carried out as part of bid evaluation and the contracts will be awarded and signed as soon as Bank’s no-objection is issued and signed contract and Performance Security (whenever required) is submitted to the Bank within 6 weeks of Bank’s no-objection to the BER. The PMM will also indicate the timeline and procedures for complaint handling. Any complaints concerning the procurement or other aspects of the Project implementation have to be registered and dealt within a time frame agreed in the PMM. 5. Following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on January 8, 2014 between the Bank and the Government the project will initiate advance procurement as soon as possible. The procurement of civil works contract for road works of Tashkent Region and selection of consultant for Design (including feasibility study for Namangan, Andijan and Fergana) and Construction Supervision Consultant should be initiated immediately, at least by negotiations. 6. The project will need retroactive financing to finance the above consultancy contract, PIU staff, civil works (Tashkent Oblast) and any other procurements as agreed in the procurement plan. 7. Record Keeping: The procurement specialist of the PIU would be responsible for maintaining of the procurement files/records. Separate files should be maintained for each contract (including both hard copy and electronic copy). All the procurement documents (including bids, technical and financial proposals of consulting services) should be kept to the end of the project and then transferred to the Government Archives. The originals of various valuable documents (such as bid security, performance guarantee, advance guarantee) are being kept in the safe by the PIU’s accountant. 8. Procurement Supervision and Procurement Post Review: Routine procurement reviews and supervision support will be provided by the procurement specialist based in the region/country office. In addition, two supervision missions are expected to take place per year during which ex-post reviews will be conducted for the contracts that are not subject to Bank prior review on a sample basis (e.g., 20 percent in terms of number of contracts). One ex-post review report will be prepared per fiscal year, including findings of physical inspections for not less than 10 percent of the contracts awarded during the review period. (vii) Disclosure: The following documents shall be disclosed in the RRF website: (i) procurement plan with estimated cost and updates, (ii) invitation for bids for goods and works for all ICB and NCB contracts, (iii) request for expression of interest for selection/hiring of consulting services, (iv) contract awards of goods and works procured following ICB/NCB procedures, (v) list of contracts/purchase orders placed following shopping procedure on quarterly basis, (vi) short list of consultants, (vii) contract award of all consultancy services, list of contracts following DC or CQS or SSS on a quarterly basis, (ix) Monthly physical and financial progress of all contracts and (x) action taken report on the complaints received on a quarterly basis. The works bidding documents shall include a clause to put up a notice board in the construction site disclosing the contract details (description, contractor name and contract amount, starting date, completion date, physical progress and financial progress). 9. The following details shall be sent to the Bank for publishing in the Bank’s external website and UNDB: (a) invitation for bids for procurement of goods and works using ICB procedures, (b) request for expression of interest for consulting services with estimated cost more than $ 300,000, (c) contract award details of all procurement of goods and works using ICB procedure, (d) contract award details of all 2 consultancy services with estimated cost more than $300,000, and (e) list of contracts/purchase orders placed following SSS or CQS or DC procedures on a quarterly basis. 10. Procurement Planning: RRF has developed the Procurement Plan (see the summary below) covering procurement activities for the entire period of project implementation. This Procurement Plan will be continuously updated as the Project progresses and will be reviewed and approved by the Bank accordingly. The Procurement Plan will be published on the Bank’s external website and Road Fund website by the time of Project negotiations. The General Procurement Notice (GPN) and advertisement of procurement opportunities will be published on the PIU’s website and Uzbek media. The ICBs and major consultancy services will also be published in the Bank’s external website and UN development business. The Recipient has the option of not disclosing the cost estimates while disclosing the procurement plan. 11. The items to be procured would include the followings: (i) Procurement of Works: There will be two packages for (i) Rehabilitation of the Regional Roads in Tashkent Oblast and (ii) Rehabilitation of the Regional Roads in Andijan, Ferghana and Namangan Oblasts with up to five lots following the pre-qualification (PQ) process. There will two PQ process, one for Tashkent and another for Andijan, Ferghana and Namangan Oblasts. (ii) Procurement of Goods: Goods procured under the project would include (a) road safety equipment; (b) equipment for traffic surveys, road inventory. These goods will be procured following ICB procedures. Small value equipment like vehicles, office equipment, etc. would be purchased through Shopping. (iii) The Bank’s latest Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) for Goods and works including Standard PQD for works shall be used for procurement of goods and works following ICB procedure. Domestic preference according to the Procurement Guidelines will apply to goods contracts only. (iv) Consulting Services: The major consulting services would include: (a) Construction Supervision Consultant; (b) TA to the Road Fund: (c) Road Sector Financing and Governance Review; (d) Road Safety Improvement and (e) Road Asset Management System and (f) financial audit. The Standards RFP will be used. Procurement Plan: Major Works and Goods Description of Estimated Date of Procurement Procurement WB Date Draft Contract Cost (US$ Method BD to WB equivalent) Review Signature 24 (Prior/Post) 1. Rehabilitation and maintenance of ICB following September April 25, regional roads in 37,500,000 Prior PQ 1, 2016 Tashkent oblast (90 2015 km) 2. Rehabilitation and maintenance of regional roads in ICB following September 127,080,000 Prior May 5, 2017 Andijan, Ferghana and PQ 10, Namangan oblasts 2016 (around 300 km) – three lots 3 3. Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Programing Tools (Supply & Install) March 16, November Equipment for traffic 3,250,000 ICB Prior 2016 16, 2015 surveys, road inventory, road inspections, laboratory quality control and testing. Procurement Plan: Major Consultancy Services Est. Cost WB Draft RFP Date of (US$ Procurement Review (incl. ToR, Contract Description equivalent) Method (Prior/ Short List) Completion Post) to WB Construction Supervision September September 7,000,000 QCBS Prior 2015 30, 2021 Review road asset management, develop regional roads rehabilitation program, review road sector governance, support road 1,750,000 QCBS Prior September September construction industry, 2015 30, 2021 strengthen RRF capacity. September September Core Team Consultants 500,000 QCBS Prior 2015 30, 2021 December, September Financial Audits LCS Prior 200,000 2015 30, 2021 Thresholds for procurement methods and Bank’s prior review: Expenditure Contract Value Procurement Contracts Subjects to Category Threshold (US$) Method Prior Review (US$) >=1,000,000 ICB All ICB contracts Goods (including < 1,000,000 NCB First 2 NCB contracts technical services) <100,000 Shopping First 1 contract NA DC* SSS contracts >=20,000 >=5,000,000 * ICB All ICB contracts First 2 contracts and contracts Works <5,000,000 NCB estimated to cost>=1,000,000 <500,000 Shopping First 1 contract 4 NA DC/SSS** SSS contracts >=30,000 Irrespective of QCBS, QBS, FBS, All contracts above Value LCS, CQS* >=300,000 for firms plus the Consultant Services NA SSS first CQS contract regardless of (including training) ** value; and all contracts NA IC >=50,000 for individuals; and all SSS contracts. Notes: (a) Shortlist may consist of only national consultants for assignments of less than US$300,000 equivalent per contract. (b) *As appropriate, CQS may be adopted for assignments costing less than $300,000. All negotiations with lowest bidder, cancellation of procurement, selection process and/or re-bidding shall be subject to prior review. ** - to be reflected and agreed in the procurement plan in advance. ICB - International Competitive Bidding NCB - National Competitive Bidding DC - Direct Contracting QCBS - Quality and Cost Based Selection QBS - Quality Based Selection LCS - Least Cost Selection FBS – Fixed Budget Selection CQS - Selection Based on Consultants’ Qualifications SSS - Single Source Selection 12. It has been agreed that if a particular invitation for bid comprises several packages, lots or slices, that are included in the same invitation for bid, then the aggregate value of the whole package determines the applicable threshold amount for procurement and also for the review by the Bank. The NCB conditions will be part of Credit Agreement as an Annex 1 to the Schedule. 5 PROCUREMENT Uzbekistan : Regional Roads Development Project PLAN General Information Country: Uzbekistan Bank’s Approval Date of the Original Procurement Plan: 2018-03-30 2019-04-24 Revised Plan Date(s): (comma delineated, leave blank if none) Project ID: P146334 GPN Date: Project Name: Regional Roads Development Project Loan / Credit No: IDA / 56790 Executing Agency(ies): Republican Road Fund under the Cabinet of Ministers WORKS Bid Evaluation Activity Reference No. / Draft Bidding Loan / Credit Market Procurement Prequalification Actual Amount Process Draft Pre-qualification Prequalification Specific Procurement Bidding Documents Proposal Submission / Report and Description Component Review Type Method Document / Signed Contract Contract Completion No. Approach Process (Y/N) (US$) Status Documents Evaluation Report Notice / Invitation as Issued Opening / Minutes Recommendation for Justification Award Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual UZ-RRFCM-61786-CW-RFB Under Open - Single Stage - One / Rehabilitation of Regional IDA / 56790 Prior Request for Bids 0.00 Implementati 2018-07-17 2018-08-03 2018-10-02 2018-11-01 2018-12-31 2020-07-01 International Envelope Roads in Tashkent Region on UZ-RRFCM-61810-CW-RFB Under Open - Single Stage - One / Rehabilitation of Regional IDA / 56790 Prior Request for Bids 0.00 Implementati 2018-09-30 2018-10-18 2018-12-17 2019-01-16 2019-03-17 2020-09-15 International Envelope Roads in Andijan Region on UZ-RRFCM-61901-CW-RFB Under Open - Single Stage - One / Rehabilitation of Regional IDA / 56790 Prior Request for Bids 0.00 Implementati 2018-09-30 2018-10-18 2018-12-17 2019-01-16 2019-03-17 2020-09-15 International Envelope Roads in ferghana Regions on UZ-RRFCM-61905-CW-RFB Under Open - Single Stage - One / Rehabilitation of Reginal IDA / 56790 Prior Request for Bids 0.00 Implementati 2019-02-15 2019-03-03 2019-05-02 2019-06-01 2019-07-31 2021-01-29 International Envelope Roads in Namangan Region on GOODS Bid Evaluation Activity Reference No. / Draft Bidding Loan / Credit Market Procurement Prequalification Actual Amount Process Draft Pre-qualification Prequalification Specific Procurement Bidding Documents Proposal Submission / Report and Description Component Review Type Method Document / Signed Contract Contract Completion No. Approach Process (Y/N) (US$) Status Documents Evaluation Report Notice / Invitation as Issued Opening / Minutes Recommendation for Justification Award Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual UZ-RRFCM-61912-GO-RFB / Supply of equipment for the Scientific Research Institute Pending on Automobile Roads and Open - Single Stage - One IDA / 56790 Prior Request for Bids 0.00 Implementati 2019-01-31 2019-03-17 2019-05-16 2019-06-15 2019-08-14 2021-02-12 RRF. Automatic traffic International Envelope on counters, road condition surveys and inventory, works quility control equipment NON CONSULTING SERVICES Bid Evaluation Activity Reference No. / Draft Bidding Loan / Credit Market Procurement Prequalification Actual Amount Process Draft Pre-qualification Prequalification Specific Procurement Bidding Documents Proposal Submission / Report and Description Component Review Type Method Document / Signed Contract Contract Completion No. Approach Process (Y/N) (US$) Status Documents Evaluation Report Notice / Invitation as Issued Opening / Minutes Recommendation for Justification Award Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual CONSULTING FIRMS Activity Reference No. / Combined Evaluation Loan / Credit Market Contract Type Actual Amount Expression of Interest Short List and Draft Request for Proposals Opening of Technical Evaluation of Description Component Review Type Method Process Status Terms of Reference Report and Draft Signed Contract Contract Completion No. Approach (US$) Notice Request for Proposals as Issued Proposals / Minutes Technical Proposal Negotiated Contract Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Page 1 UZ-RRFCM-57295-CS-LCS / Cosultant Services for project Least Cost Audit. IDA / 56790 Prior Open - National 10,880.00 Signed 2017-10-24 2017-11-22 2018-01-23 2018-03-04 2018-03-08 2018-03-30 2018-04-04 2020-06-30 Selection (Total budget as per RFP - 30 000 dollars) UZ-RRFCM-61706-CS-QCBS / Supervision Consultants: Quality And Cost- Open - IDA / 56790 Prior 0.00 Under Review 2018-08-01 2018-08-01 2018-09-30 2018-10-30 2018-11-29 2018-12-29 2019-01-27 2021-01-26 Supervision of civil work in Based Selection International Fergana Valley UZ-RRFCM-61773-CS-QCBS / Supervision consultants: Quality And Cost- Open - IDA / 56790 Prior 1,800,000.00 Signed 2016-03-06 2016-03-06 2016-09-20 2016-11-03 2017-01-11 2017-04-04 2018-05-31 2020-05-30 supervision of civil works in Based Selection International Tashkent region UZ-RRFCM-61971-CS-QCBS / Consulting Service: Road sector governance review. Support to road construction industry, including Quality And Cost- Open - Pending IDA / 56790 Prior 0.00 2019-01-31 2019-01-31 2019-04-01 2019-05-01 2019-06-15 2019-06-30 2019-07-29 2021-05-29 development of regulatory Based Selection International Implementation framework and design standards in the road sector, improvement of technical capacity of scietific research. INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS Page 2